Pages

Monday, 30 December 2013

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this
book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Jason is the guitarist in the Assorted Zebras with his
friends, however, they have no gigs and no one has heard of them. That is until
Jason follows a thief from his house, and ends up in the world of the fairies.
He decides to take some magical instruments for his band, but they are destructive
and lead him and his band members into a dangerous chain of events. Fairy Metal
Thunder is a light fun paranormal book with some action but does not take
itself too seriously. I like the POV of Jason and his struggle to become famous
and win the girl of his dreams, but I prefer Aoide’s POV as it was interesting
to see more of the fairy world and I felt sorry for her and her band mates. I
would recommend Fairy Metal Thunder to people who enjoy light paranormal books
with fairies in.

Friday, 27 December 2013

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this
book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Jayne Sparks has always felt something was missing in her
life. After running away from her troubled home life with her best friend Tony,
they meet up with another group of runaways. Together they are sent to a forest
with magical dangers everywhere. The Changelings is an enjoyable paranormal
book and it was very fast paced. I liked how Jayne and Tony were just best
friends, unlike most other paranormal novels, they were not romantically
attracted to each other at all. I would recommend The Changeling to fans of
action-filled paranormal books.

Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Thanks to Netgalley and Indie Inked for giving me this
book and the rest of Faery Worlds to review.

Dindi is a young woman who dreams of becoming a Tavaedi,
but cannot do anything right and prefers spending her time dancing with fairies.
Kavio is a power Warrior-dancer who is exiled from his home for a crime he did
not commit. I just could not get on with Initiate as I did not care much about what
happened to the characters, and the plot was a bit confusing. If you enjoy
fantasy books with fairies in, I would recommend Winter Queen by Amber Argyle.

Saturday, 21 December 2013

It has been 6 years since the Blood Moon battle, and Lucy,
along with her boyfriend Nicholas, have set up a place where both vampires and
Helios-Ra hunters who have problems with each other go, so they can get over
their prejudices. Aggie, a Helios-Ra student, has been bought up by her sister
to hate vampires but she particularly distrusts Cal, a vampire with burning
blue eyes. As the winter solstice approaches and a new type of vampire hunter group
are becoming more dangerous, Aggie and Cal have to work together to save their
friends, and she must discover the real reason she thinks Cal is a threat.

The Longest Night is a good short story and it was nice
to see some of my favourite characters back and to see what they have been up
to since the last book. However, that being said, it felt like the characters
had not matured much in the six years, and with how they acted it could have
been set less than a year after the Blood Moon battle.

Aggie was an interesting character as she wants to live
up to her deceased sister’s beliefs and decisions, but at the same time wants
to make her own opinion on what is right and wrong. The romance in this book is
good, but I wish there was more of Nicholas and Lucy as they are one of my
favourite couples.

This is a really enjoyable novella, however I wish it was
a bit longer. I would recommend The Longest Night to fans of the Drake Chronicles.

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

When her parents are killed and she is shipwrecked,
Lilette, an 8 year old witch, is the only survivor. She is rescued by Fa, who
adopts her as long as she promises never to sing. After years on the island, an
accident causes her to reveal her long kept secret, it starts Lilette on the
path to her becoming one of the most powerful and important witches ever born.

Witch Rising is the short story prequel to Witch Fall, it
is a good, very quick fantasy read. Lilette is a nice character and I felt very
sorry for her but I could not connect much with her, I hope I get to know and
like her better in Witch Fall.

This novella did not come to a nice conclusion, which
left many unanswered questions for the next book. I would recommend Witch Rising
to anyone who is interested in reading Witch Fall.

Sunday, 15 December 2013

Peace has finally been reached in the seven kingdoms of
Justava, but a new evil power is growing, the Necromancer empire. After they
are betrayed and have lost their loved ones and city, Brenik and Nalia must
find allies to stop the necromancer’s army. To do this they must overcome their
prejudices and seek the outcasts of Justava to ignite their rebellion.

The Seven Kingdoms is an enjoyable book, which is a
classic fantasy tale with good fighting evil. Whilst this book is similar to
Lord of the Rings, it felt like it was more inspired by it than trying to be
like it. The start of the book was a bit slow but soon it picks up as the story
got more interesting.

I like Brenik and Nalia as they were trying to do what
was right and save all races not just their own. However, I did find them a bit
too prefect as they were good at everything. Even though I normally like
romance in my books, the romance in this did not feel right to me, but I am not
sure why.

I enjoyed this book and I hope there are more in this
series. I would recommend The Seven Kingdoms to people who enjoy a good fantasy
novel which has a good vs. evil theme.

Thursday, 12 December 2013

Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for giving
me this book to review.

After taking the test on her 17th birthday Kitty
has become an III, this leaves her with 2 choices, work very hard at a
miserable job away from her friends and boyfriend or become a prostitute.
However, the Prime Minister, Daxton Hart, offers her a third option to become a
VII. She is Masked, surgically altered to look like the Prime Minister’s niece,
Lila Hart, who was killed. With Kitty being a pawn in the Hart family power
struggle, she must choose whether she should stay safe and stop the rebellion
against the system and Lila’s uncle or continue Lila’s rebellion and risk
facing the same fate.

Pawn is a likeable dystopian novel, full of twists,
secrets and betrayals, however, the first half of the book was slow and was
drawn out, but the last half got more exciting and was quicker paced. Even
though there was a minor love triangle in this novel, I liked how the romance
did not take over the plot, unlike most YA dystopian books.

Kitty is an interesting character as she wants to help
the people who were like her and who are looked down upon by the higher ranks,
but at the same time, is willing to do whatever it takes to keep herself and
her loved ones safe. However, I felt the way she thought about and reacted to
the decisions she made at the start of the book were not realistic. All the
secondary characters are interesting and well rounded, but I did find it a bit irritating
that everyone was keeping secrets except Benjy.

This was an enjoyable book and I would like to read the
next one Captive. I would recommend Pawn to people who enjoyed reading Matched,
The Selection and Inside Out.

Monday, 9 December 2013

Echo is still reeling after the assassination of Alex
Tesla, and the usurpation of Echo control by Dominic Verdigris. Bull is still
in a coma, and there is nothing Bella can do to bring him out of it. At the
same time, Red Djinni has taken over training Vicki, the only person left of
Bull’s team of misfits, as Scope and Acrobat are off chasing Harmony after her
betrayal. Meanwhile, CCCP are still helping the community, stepping in where
Echo cannot, and, with the help of John Murdock and Sera, gaining vital
intelligence on the Thulians.

Revolutions is a rather disjointed read, which is to be
expected as it is written by various different authors, however I really
enjoyed reading it as there are several threads running through the story which
tie it all together. Whilst Revolutions is not a quick read it is very
engrossing and leaves you wanting more. It did feel as if the authors were
concentrating on Dominic Verdigris rather than the Thulians; the alien invaders
were rather a side line than the main story.

Red Djinni is one of my favourite characters, as even
though he is a (mostly) reformed thief and a con artist, he shows throughout
the books that he has incredible loyalty to his friends and the causes he
believes are worth it. I love that every day he changes his visage to look like
a different celebrity. I also enjoy the contradiction that is Vicki, as in her
domain she is so confident yet outside in the big, wide world she is so scarred
and vulnerable. There was not as much of Ramona and Mercurye as I would like, and I would love it if they could have a bigger part in the next book.Anyone who enjoyed this book would also enjoy the podcasts, available at the secret world chronicles wedsite, which has other unpublished short tales, by the way, Bella's voice is very annoying! I would recommend Revolution to anyone who likes the first two books, Invasion and World Divided, or who like watching Agents of Shield.

Saturday, 7 December 2013

The death of a wine seller’s son sparks a war between
three kingdoms, and four different young people, Cleo, Jonas, Magnus and Lucia
are caught in the centre of this conflict. I felt I should have liked Falling
Kingdoms, but I found it was boring and did not interest me, as the plot seemed
very obvious and predictable. I could not connect to any of the characters as
they all seem very stereotypical. Falling Kingdoms is marketed as a YA Game of
Thrones, but I am not a fan of either TV series or books, so people who do like
it may like this book more. I did not enjoy this book and did not finish it.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Thanks to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK
& ANZ) for giving me this book to review.

In 1814 London, the 3 Lovegrove cousins Emma, Penelope
and Gretchen, are unaware that they are witches. When Emma inadvertently opens
the gates of the underworld, it lets loose horrors into Regency London. The most
deadly being the Greymalkin sisters, who are killing debutantes, and Emma is
somehow connected to the murders as she keeps finding the bodies. Together
Emma, Gretchen and Penelope must learn and master their powers, uncover the
clues and discover the secrets of their families past.

I liked A Breath of Frost, but for some reason, I’m not
sure why, I felt underwhelmed with it, compared to Harvey’s other books which I
love. However, it was a nice, quick paranormal read set in Regency times.

I liked Emma as she is stubborn and tough, however, both
her and her cousins act too much like modern women, as they do not behave how I
believe most regency girls would.

I will probably read the next book and hopefully I will
connect with it more than this one. I would recommend A Breath of Frost to
people who enjoy Harvey’s other books.